O. Meyer — Genealogy and Age of the Species, etc. 421 



Aet. LIII. — The Genealogy and the Age of the Species in the 

 Southern Old-tertiary ; by Otto Meyer, Ph.D. 



[Parts of this article were read at the meeting of the National Academy of 

 Sciences, Albany, N. T., November 12th.] 



Part III. 

 Reply to Criticisms. 



In Part II of my essay I endeavored for several reasons to be 

 as brief as possible. Such authors and sentences only were 

 quoted as were considered absolutely necessary, saying : " Inter- 

 esting as it would be, I cannot review here the whole literature 

 regarding this subject," (p. 65). In a few cases it was ventured 

 to condense the result of long researches into one statement. The 

 criticisms* in the October number of this Journal have shown 

 . that I was wrong in doing so, and I now propose to add further 

 explanations in consequence of the misunderstandings which 

 have resulted. 



Professor Hilgard contests my statements about his work, 

 and says that the stratigraphy clearly shows the succession to 

 be commencing below, Claiborne, Jackson and Yicksburg. In 

 replying to his remarks I shall endeavor to show that I was 

 right in affirming that Professor Hilgard has not proved this 

 to be the true succession. I designate this statement of mine 

 as Statement B. Mr. Hilgard also says that he differs from me 

 " more fundamentally in the sweeping statement " that " only 

 a competent and careful examination of the fossils could indi- 

 cate the relations of the Old-tertiary strata of Mississippi ;" I 

 am therefore obliged also to explain this statement of mine 

 (Statement A) in detail. Professor Hilgard's observations, as 

 far as all-important points are concerned, are published in his 

 " Geological Eeport of Mississippi;" Jackson, 1860 (beyond 

 referred to as " I "), and " On the Tertiary formations of 

 Mississippi and Alabama ;" this Journal, Jan. 1867, pp. 29-41 

 (beyond abbreviated to "II"). 



Statement A. 



To explain this statement I consider it necessary to proceed 

 in a somewhat methodical manner. We ask at first : can we 

 trace the typical Yicksburg or Claiborne bed over or under the 



*1. The Old Tertiary of the Southwest; by E. W". Hilgard, pp. 266-269. 2. Re- 

 marks on a paper of Dr. Otto Meyer on "Species in the Southern Old-tertiary;" 

 by Eugene A. Smith, pp. 270-275.. 3. Observations upon the Tertiary of Ala- 

 bama; by T. H. Aldrich, ibid., pp. 300-308. 



